Swann’s Way at 100:
Reading Proust, 1913-2013

Known as the “annus mirabilis” of French twentieth-century letters, the year 1913—final and culminating year of the “Belle Epoque,” which would end abruptly on the battlefields of World War I—saw the publication of Proust’s Swann’s Way, first volume of In Search of Lost Time (originally translated into English as Remembrance of Things Past). “It’s illegible,” claimed publisher Bernard Grasset famously, even as he nonetheless agreed to a project rejected by three other editors. Yet Grasset’s decision was scarcely an endorsement of the work’s merits; continuing in equally dismissive scorn, he explained, “We’ve published it at the author’s expense.” A century later, In Search of Lost Time stands, indisputably, as one of the most decisive literary masterpieces of all time. Honoring the centennial anniversary of the publication of Swann’s Way on November 14th, 1913, this colloquium seeks to offer an overview of Proust’s great legacy, via a sampling of the limitless readings his work has inspired.